Betrothed
by gunman
Summary: An arranged marriage by his mother makes Shinji the fiancée of Miyabi Kagurazaki, who has been adopted by the wealthy Sakuraba family in order to fulfill the pledge.


_**BETROTHED  
**_by Gunman

Disclaimer: I do not own Eva or Ai Yori Aoshi or their characters.

Summary: An arranged marriage by his mother makes Shinji the fiancée of Miyabi Kagurazaki, who has been adopted by the wealthy Sakuraba family in order to fulfill the pledge.

Another response to Invincible Shinji's _Romance Fanfic Challenge_.

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Chapter 1  
**Meeting My Fiancée**

(Sakuraba Family Estate)

"Thank you for coming so quickly, Miyabi." Kimiko Sakuraba said to the mauve-haired woman.

"Is everything alright, Ma'am?" Miyabi Kagurazaki said to the older woman who was dressed in a black and silver kimono.

"Of course, Miyabi. Please walk with me." Kimiko said.

_Uh-oh!_ The younger, mauve-haired woman thought.

As the pair walked through the lavish garden, they talk about a most troubling issue that has come up. At least, it could be troubling.

"Miyabi... how long have you worked for the Sakuraba family?" Kimiko said.

"Umm... At least twenty years now." Miyabi asked.

"And we have been good to you, have we not?"

"Of course."

"And you have never wronged us or brought shame to us."

_I don't like where this is going_. She thought. "Not to my knowledge." she replied.

"Good. Then you know that we would never do anything to wrong you."

_Definitely not good_. "Ma'am... has something happened? Is something wrong?"

"Not at all. We were just thinking about adopting you."

"WHAT?" Miyabi gasped, clearly shocked at what she was hearing.

"Do you object?" Kimiko said.

"Well, no, but... I have to admit it is rather... sudden." Miyabi stated.

"I agree. But..." she said, pausing.

Miyabi wondered why she was pausing, and so long a pause.

"A situation has come to light regarding an old arrangement, and..." she said, pausing once more.

Miyabi still looked confused.

"I suppose I should start at the beginning. Centuries ago, during the Edo Period of Japan, the Sakuraba Family began to grow into the wealthy and powerful conglomerate that we are now. As such we had many people wanting to marry into our family, for the sake of increasing their status as well as our combined wealth. As a result, the Sakuraba family chose to honor the various arranged marriages, but only those we deemed worthy. Some of these marriages have taken place over the years when an heir became available. And unfortunately that has not changed." the woman said.

"You mean... someone else has come forward with a marriage proposal?" Miyabi asked.

"Actually, the pledge was made fifteen years ago. By me." Kimiko said.

"What?"

"Fifteen years ago, I met a woman named Yui Ikari, a descendant of one of the many families that wished to marry into our family and thus increase both of our prestige and status. She didn't want to impose upon us an old pledge, but she did so for the sake of her child. As per the old traditions, I honored the pledge. However, Yui Ikari died ten years ago. As per the pledge, should the person who made the pledge, in this case Yui herself, die for any reason, the agreement will be null and void, but only so much as the other intended suitor fails to become available." Kimiko stated.

"But one has. Haven't they?" Miyabi asked.

"Yes. Yui Ikari is survived by her son. Her only son."

Miyabi was starting to get the picture now.

They wanted her to become a member of the Sakuraba family in order to fulfill a marriage pledge. However, this pledge seemed to be contingent on if they could find someone for this Ikari son to marry. Aoi wouldn't agree to it, because she loved Kaoru so much.

Which meant...

"You don't have to say yes, Miyabi-san." Kimiko said.

"What?" Miyabi asked.

"The agreement is only contingent on if there is a suitable heir to marry. On either side. You can reject our offer to adopt you. In which case you would return to your normal duties as you have done so far. However, if you agree to this... it will force you into a marriage of inconvenience with someone you do not know and have never met. The only advantage gained would be an increased status amongst the Sakuraba family for you, direct access to all family funds, and... you would ultimately be Aoi-chan's older sister."

While all of that seemed nice, a thought struck Miyabi.

"You said... someone I do not know and have never met. You mean... you don't know where this person is?"

"We do. We have a name and an address, but... only that. He vanished approximately ten years ago following his mothers death. Apparently shipped off to live with a teacher in another city." she said with a sigh. "We have only recently been able to locate him. Aside from that, we have nothing else."

"So... we don't even know how old he is? What his character is?" Miyabi asked.

"No."

Miyabi actually thinks about this.

"You don't know anything about the son." Miyabi said.

"No." Kimiko said.

"What about the mother?" Miyabi asked.

"She is dead." Kimiko stated.

"But you said you met her once. What was she like?" she asked.

Kimiko thought about that for a few seconds. Trying to recall what she remembered of Yui.

"I remember that she was young and attractive, but very intelligent. Kind, patient, collected, though she seemed rather...nervous. Perhaps worried I would not honor the pledge." Kimiko said.

_Hmm._ _Perhaps worried for her son._ Miyabi thought as her mind went into overdrive in regards to the pros and cons of this entire affair.

In the end, she came to a conclusion.

"Then... I agree." Miyabi said.

"You... you agree? To be adopted?" Kimiko asked.

"Yes." Miyabi said.

"But that means you will be obligated to honor the pledge that..."

"If what you said about this woman, Yui Ikari, is accurate, then the same should be true of her son." Miyabi argued.

"Perhaps, but there is no way to know this for sure."

"I could... personally interview him." Miyabi suggested.

Ms Sakuraba stared at Miyabi for a few seconds.

"Until you are certain he is... appropriate?" Kimiko asked.

"Yes. Though I have no reason to distrust your judgement, ma'am." Miyabi said.

"Please... call me mother."

"Mother... may I ask, what the name of the boy is?" she asked.

"His name is Shinji Ikari." Kimiko said.

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(Tokyo-3, Apartment of Shinji Ikari, two days later)

Miyabi was finally headed for Tokyo-3 to personally interview her intended husband. Backed by the detailed information taken down by Kimiko Sakuraba when Yui Ikari approached her to honor the pledge of marriage nearly fifteen years ago.

She had told Aoi-sama and the others at the Sakuraba Summer Mansion that she might be gone for a few days, and to behave themselves while she was gone.

It made her shudder at the possible bad-scenarios that could occur.

_No! No, I'm sure Taeko-san will not burn down the mansion. And Tina-san will not fill it with animals while I am gone. Aoi-sama and Kaoru-dono should be able to handle things until I return_. She thought as she drove faster.

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Miyabi rode the elevator up to the 7th Floor and headed down to the apartment that Shinji lived in. However, as she approached, she noticed a pair of boys running away from the very apartment she was actually heading towards.

"Later Ikari!" a young teenager wearing glasses shouted.

_Ikari? That boy is Ikari?_ She thought as she saw a teenage boy standing in the doorway and waving back to the departing boys._ Maybe he is the younger brother._ She thought, momentarily dismissing that thought since Kimiko Sakuraba had said that Yui had only one son.

"Yeah! Say HI to Ms. Misato when she gets back!" a taller boy wearing a black track suit said.

"Oh just go home already!" the brown-haired, blue-eyed boy called back.

The two boys ran past Miyabi, but it could have been her imagination that the taller boy looked back in order to check her out.

"Whoa! Hot babe!" Toji, the boy in the track suit said.

"A little older than Ms Misato." Kensuke, the boy wearing the glasses said.

"Still. Nice curves."

Miyabi, overhearing them and their lewd comments, growled at the pair, her fearsome stare quickly sending them running down the stairs. Apparently they thought the elevator was too slow.

Reigning in her emotions, Miyabi turned towards the young man at the door.

"Excuse me." Miyabi said.

"Yes?" the teenage boy said.

"I'm looking for Shinji Ikari." she said.

"Uh, that's me." he said, a little stunned by the beautiful woman. _Why is she looking for me?_

"The son of Yui Ikari?"

"Yes."

"I see." she said, externally calm, but internally freaking out. _This Is Shinji? He's A Child! _She thought. _It seems obvious that mother made the agreement without knowing the status of the child. Strange that she would do so. _

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"I... I'm not sure if you can." she said hesitantly.

"Are you selling something?" he asked.

"No." Miyabi said.

"Are you here to kill me?" he asked.

"NO!" she gasped, appalled at the strange question.

"Well, then would you like to come in and have some tea?" Shinji offered.

"Uh... thank you." she said hesitantly as he let her inside the apartment.

Miyabi sat down at the kitchen table while Shinji made her some tea.

While he does this, Miyabi studies him.

_He is young. But he seems kind, well-mannered, and he at least knows how to entertain a guest_. She thought. _Though why did he ask if I was here to kill him?_

"Here you go Ms... Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot to ask you your name." Shinji said.

"I am Miyabi Sakuraba." the mauve-haired woman said.

"Pleased to meet you." Shinji said with a small bow.

Just then PenPen walked by.

"What is that?" Miyabi gasped in shock.

"That's PenPen. He's a warm-water penguin that Misato adopted a while back." Shinji explained.

"Interesting pet." she said. "And Misato is your guardian?"

"Yes, she is."

The pair talk for a while, Miyabi actually liking the boy. However, Miyabi manages not to tell him why she is actually there to see him.

"Miyabi-san, forgive me for asking but... are you a reporter?" Shinji asked.

"Why do you want to know?" Miyabi asked.

"Because you've been asking me a lot of questions, and haven't told me about yourself."

"Hmm. That's true. Well, for starters..."

A rather embarrassing gurgling of her stomach paused her explanation.

"Oh! Are you hungry? It's almost time for me to prepare dinner." Shinji said.

"Oh, then... let me help you." Miyabi said.

_Hmm. He must do all the cooking here, unless I am mistaken by all the instant meals and beer in the refrigerator._ She thought, seeing Shinji pull out various vegetables and meats and started chopping them up.

It was less than a half-hour later when Misato came home and found Shinji cooking dinner with a rather beautiful older woman.

"Welcome home, Misato." Shinji called out.

"Hey, Shin-" Misato paused when she saw Miyabi standing in her, their, kitchen helping to cut up vegetables. "Oh. I didn't know you had a date." she teased.

"Misato!" Shinji blushed at the accusation.

Introductions were quickly made, but Misato still didn't let this go.

"You let an attractive, older woman into the apartment, just like that? How do you know she's not here to kill you or molest you?" Misato asked.

"If she was going to do either of those things, she would have done it before you got home." Shinji said.

"Maybe she's here to kill both of us?" Misato asked.

"Then she would have killed me and waited for you." Shinji said. "Not helped me cook dinner."

"And what is she really doing here?" Misato asked.

"Actually... I came here to marry Shinji."

At hearing that, both teenager and guardian coughed.

"WHAT?" Misato gasped.

"You came here to marry me?" Shinji gasped.

"That is correct." Miyabi said.

"But... why didn't you tell me this earlier?" Shinji asked.

"Because I wanted to get to know you better before I informed you of the marriage pledge that your mother made to my mother." she said, producing a set of documents from her purse.

Misato looked it over and gasped, realizing she was telling the truth.

"Misato?" Shinji asked, noting the tense look on his guardian's face.

"This marriage pledge is signed by Yui Ikari." Misato stated.

"That's... my mother!" Shinji gasped.

"I know." Miyabi said.

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Authors Notes:

Yes, I'm crazy. Sue me. I love these series and I am making other people annoyed at the fact that I am creating more work for myself. I'm gonna get flamed and critiqued for this, but I don't really care. I wanted these stories to be significant and unique, and posted on a date that everyone can remember. So, hopefully everyone will actually enjoy these stories and leave me lots of reviews telling me how I can update and improve upon them.

Also, I didn't know the real name of Aoi's mother, so I made one up.


End file.
